


Recruitment Drive

by miss_nettles_wife



Category: Eerie Indiana
Genre: Future Fic, Gen, Post canon, Recruitment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:54:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24717865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_nettles_wife/pseuds/miss_nettles_wife
Summary: An agency has taken interest in Janet Donner.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Recruitment Drive

**Author's Note:**

> *taps mic* is this thing on? I know it's been a while since I finished anything but in my defense school has been killing me these last few weeks. Anyways, enjoy!

This was the nicest place Janet had ever eaten lunch before. Way nicer than the Bus Terminal and Supper Club, way nicer than the Bait Shop and Sushi Bar and way, way nicer than the World O’ Stuff. And secretive, if what she’d been told upon entry was correct. What happened in the Eerie Fine Diners Collective stayed in the Eerie Fine Diners Collective. Looking around, she could see other people enjoying their lunch, and all of them seemed to be doing something a little different. 

The Principal of the town’s only Private School (Read: not BYF Skinner where Janet and the rest of her friends went) was eating lunch with his secretary and eyeballing her across the table while one hand rested suggestively on her thigh. Mayor Chisel was sharing a pot of fondue with the man who worked at the record store in town. His cheekbones were sharp but his smile at the Mayor seemed real. Janet liked him. He always had all kinds of imported music for sale and a stash of Anime that Marshall was slowly but steadily becoming obsessed with. Among the other diners, she could see one of the Foreverware Cult Ladies that almost recruited Syndi a while back talking to a young man who Janet vaguely recognized as graduating the year before. Being here was like being privy to the affairs of every high profile citizen in Eerie, if Syndi was here, she’d have a fit trying to remember all the details to write about later. 

Then there was her lunch date. The woman who had come to collect her from the principal’s office at her meager public school was short, but she had a presence about her that just screamed ‘in charge’ and ‘don’t test me’. Her red hair was neatly coiffed into a Marilyn Monroe esque bob, and her heart-shaped lips were painted pink nude, a shade she was sure would compliment her eyes, if she could see them behind her large pair of designer sunglasses. She looked like a secret agent, so when she introduced herself as Agent O’Brien she’d been less than surprised. 

“What are you having?” O’Brien asked, opening the leather-bound menu and scanning the rows of neatly listed items without taking her sunglasses off. Janet looked down at the swirly font’d menu and realized that A) she couldn’t identify most of these food items and B) there was no way she could afford any of them. She didn’t even have a job since Marshall got her fired from the Bait Shop and Sushi Bar after his Soylent Green meltdown in front of the newly installed Sushi Train. 

“I can’t afford any of this.” She replied, honestly. 

“I’m sure my boss will cop it.” The lady says, and she speaks with a thick Australian accent. Janet looked back down again and after a moment of consideration decided.  
“I’ll have crab salad.”   
“And to drink?”   
“Um..” She paused to think about what she’d heard her parents drinking at the Bus Terminal and Supper Club every week or so they visited with the Tellers, and sometimes the Teller’s children. “Lemon Lime and Bitters?” She nods and looks up. Somehow, despite her obscured face a waitress with tightly pulled back blonde hair makes her way over to them. Her apron is so white and starched that it could just as well be brand new.   
“What can I get you, Agent?” She asked, her tone friendly. Her name-tag reads “Tori”. 

“I’ll have clear chicken soup, and my friend here will be having the crab salad.” 

“Can I get you both something to drink?” 

“Two lemon lime and bitters, thanks.” 

“Won’t be a minute.” She smiled, before walking quickly away into the restaurant floor leaving them alone again. Even though logic dictated that Janet should be concerned, after all, she was being wined and dined by a lady in her thirties after she removed her from school in the fanciest restaurant in town. She should be nervous, but she wasn’t, somehow. Perhaps it was just the calming vibe the lady gave off but Janet didn’t think she meant her any harm. At least, not at the moment who was to say if that could change as the meal went on. 

“I won’t beat around the bush, I’m sure you’re wondering if you’ve just been kidnapped or not.” 

“Only a little.” She replied, “Maybe not at all if you keep taking me out to fancy restaurants.” 

“I’m legally obligated to tell you that if you mention anything in this conversation to anyone aside from myself and my superior then yourself, as well as your immediate family and your close friends will have to, unfortunately, be terminated.” 

“Was...Did you just threaten me?” Janet asked, a wave of acidic fear creeping through her heart at the sudden change in the woman's tone, and geez, it came out of nowhere. What the Hell sort of situation was she in? She wondered, looking around and taking stock of the nearby exits in case she had to make a break for it. Would she make it? Probably not if the woman had a gun but at least she could try. Simon had a no-guns policy, Janet had a don’t go down without a fight policy and it was yet to fail her. 

“Of course not.” The woman said, cheery again, her voice calm and warm. “I’m just telling you the truth, so you know why you needn’t pass on this information to your...Friends.” 

“What the hell is all this about?” She hissed, as the waiter brought over the drinks and set them down on the table. Even the straws were nicer than the ones Radford had, they were metal and reusable. She took a sip to calm her nerves and found it to be almost undrinkable. 

“You need to stir it,” O’Brien said amusement coloring her tone. “It’s what the little stick is for.” Janet noticed the little stick standing up in the pink-colored drink. She quickly grabbed hold of it and stirred it around a few times before taking another sip, feeling the blush on her cheeks at the misstep. It was probably obvious she didn’t drink a lot of fancy drinks, her preference was Diet Coke. Or New Coke, even if Marshall thought it was an abomination. “Now. About the reason you’re here...Ms. Donner, did you know that every year at least one hundred and fifty Americans experience a Temporal Disruption of some description?” 

“Temporal disruption? Like...Time differences and stuff?” 

“Sort of. See, time doesn’t always work like it’s meant to. Every year, hundreds of people find themselves back by only a few minutes or seconds, or suddenly find themselves a few minutes or seconds in the future. Those that are extremely unlucky find themselves in the time that’s already been occupied and is being cleaned. Some that are even less fortunate than that find themselves...Well. They find themselves recycled.”

“Like what happened to me.” 

“Like what happened to you. See, Ms. Donner, you are exceptional.” 

“Not really. I’m a straight B student.” 

“Not like that. I mean in how you survived a year behind time. That’s...Almost unheard of.” 

“I just did what anyone else would do.” 

“No, you let your instincts drive you to survive in a hostile environment that most people would never last a week in, much less a year. You are an exceptional specimen, Janet Donner. And my agency, the Temporal Disruption Management Division, would like to offer you a job.” 

“A...Job.” 

“Correct. Of course, you’d be in a guided training program once a week or so for a year, maybe two at which point you will be granted full agent status.” 

“Right. Do I have to cut off my friends and family you know...Secret agent style?” She asked, almost unable to believe what she was hearing. Because she was just Janet Donner, normal American girl Janet Donner. The idea that she was a) exceptional and b) exceptional enough to be offered a job at a shady government agency was downright ridiculous and irreconcilable with how she viewed herself. 

“Of course not. Your roots put down here in Eerie would be nothing but a benefit to you.” 

“Why are you offering it to me? Marshall is the weirdness hunting guy.” Her face darkened, and Janet felt that fear wash over her again. 

“Marshall Teller as you know him is far too...Inquisitive, for our needs. Far too...How shall I say this? He asks the wrong questions, and he’s about as subtle as a wrought iron gate.” True enough, Janet thought, but she didn’t see what made her the best person for the job, but O’Brien continued, “As I know him he has been a collective thorn in the side of my agency for years with his time traveling milk truck. Aside from saving you, all he’s done so far has led to near-catastrophic breaches in privacy and attempted to out the nature of temporal disruptions for years...And then there’s his relationship with the entity known as Dash X...No. He wouldn’t be appropriate for the job.” 

“How do you know about his relationship with Dash?” She asked, “His parents don’t even know about that.” O’Brien gave her a tight-lipped smile that is about as warm as Antarctica in the winter. 

“Dash X is a point of interest for my agency.” She replied, and then took a contemplative sip of her drink. “Seeing how close he came to being able to change our timeline with relatively little effort on his part...He’s a potential asset, but more likely a threat.” 

“So why not just...Terminate him?” 

“Because it’s not in our jurisdiction, and even if it was our local agent suggests he’s far more useful alive and potentially coming to understand his origins.” 

“So you don’t know them?” 

“We have our theories, but they’re on a need to know basis and you, Ms. Donner, are not need to know.” The waiter lowered the plates onto the table in front of them. The crab salad sat squished into an artful circle with a smear of orange sauce next to it. It looked more like a piece of art than it did a meal. The soup was served in a shallow bowl with a large, white rim. The spoon was almost the size of a teaspoon, she thought, amused by the sight. Agent O’Brien had short, red-painted nails. 

“What would guided training involve?” She asked a few bites into her meal. 

“Research, lots of it. But there will be chances for you to accompany the local agent, or myself, out into the field for research and if needed, terminating disruptions that cannot be dealt with peacefully.” 

“What counts as a disruption?” 

“People who have been moved forward and backward in time, beings who have been exposed to processes and found their DNA affected, and perhaps even resorting altered timelines.” 

“So just little things then.”   
“Don’t worry, there will be plenty of time for you to throw it down with the big boys once your training is completed. Should you choose to join us of course, which it seems like you’re considering.” 

“I am.” She said, “But this sounds like a lot of commitment for me to be making at sixteen.” 

“It does.” Agent O’Brien agreed, “I wasn’t recruited until I was almost thirty, and even then it felt like a lot.” 

“How old are you now?” 

“That’s not a polite question to ask.” 

“I know.” 

“Technically? Fifty-eight.” 

“You don’t look fifty-eight.” 

“I know.” She agreed. “Perks of the job.” 

“So you’ll live forever?” 

“Maybe, but probably only until I decide to retire and live out the rest of my life.” 

“How will you know when you want to retire?” 

“When I’m sick of the job.” 

“Will I be sixteen until I decide to retire?” 

“No, in fact, it would be in your best interests to age normally and make the most of your contacts.” She paused, “And it’s my understanding that aging is casual in this town anyway if your Foreverware people are anything to think about.” 

“People here tend to tolerate weird stuff.” Janet agreed easily, thinking of Marshall again. She looked over to Agent O’Brien who was sipping her soup and looking...Well. Normal. 

“What’s the pay like?”

“About what you’d expect for a government job.” 

“Do I have to wear the glasses?” O’Brien lowered her glasses to reveal a pair of purple, pupil-less eyes underneath. 

“The glasses are optional.” 

“Those real?” 

“As can be.” Janet swallowed her last mouthful of salad a little mournfully. For the cost of the meal you certainly didn’t get a lot of it. She followed that up with a long sip of her drink and looked back at her lunch date. 

“Can I leave?” 

“The Division?” 

“Like if I get sick of it or something.” 

“Retirement is available after ten years of service, and you may request a transfer to another division at any time, but understand that the nature of the job does require a great deal of commitment from you.”

“And if I say I don’t want to join your division?” 

“Then we finish our meal, I drive you back to your school and bid you adieu for the foreseeable future.” Janet nodded and sipped her drink again, sucking an ice cube into her mouth and crushing it between her teeth. Marshall always hated it when she did that, which was all the more reason to do it in her opinion. 

“Alright.” She said, “I’ll join your division.” 

“I knew you would.” Agent O’Brien said, smiling broadly at her, “It was why I recommended you for the position.” She held out her hand. Janet took it and they shook over the table. She suspected that there would not be many boring days in her future. 


End file.
